


Ice Bound

by LBibliophile



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bingo Fill, Captain America: The First Avenger, Cryofreeze (Marvel), Cryogenics, Gen, Headcanon/outline format, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Not Really Character Death, Platonic Soulmates, Whumptober 2020, can be read as shippy if you choose, steve's crash can be interpreted that way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:02:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26948665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LBibliophile/pseuds/LBibliophile
Summary: Steve and Bucky are Bonded. From the day they first meet they are inseparable – best friends and brothers – hardly a day goes past without the other’s company. People say they are lucky, finding each other so young, so close, never having to search and wonder; they say that it is a sign of the strength of their bond.They will need that strength.For:Whumptober 2020 - day 20: LostStar Spangled Bingo 2020 - Soulmates AUBucky Barnes Bingo 2020 - Y1: image of Bucky and Steve post-Azzano
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2
Collections: Bucky Barnes Bingo 2020, Star Spangled Bingo 2020, Whumptober 2020





	Ice Bound

**Author's Note:**

> So. I don’t normally like soulmate fics, but I had an idea. This is written as an outline, with bits turning more fic-like. Note that I’m fudging timelines a little.
> 
> In this universe, soulbonds are a complex combination of physical, mental and emotional ties. The effects are mostly pretty subtle, but include an increased probability of coming into contact with your Bonded, and an extra depth to whatever type of relationship you end up having (so this could be Stucky, but I'm writing it as platonic).

Steve and Bucky are Bonded. From the day they first meet they are inseparable – best friends and brothers – hardly a day goes past without the other’s company. People say they are lucky, finding each other so young, so close, never having to search and wonder; they say that it is a sign of the strength of their bond.

They will need that strength.

* * *

The war is hard on both of them. It’s the first time they’ve been separated for any length of time, and they both know the danger Bucky is walking into and his chances for survival.

Steve becomes Captain America, but is restricted to publicity tours back home; the whole while, his heart and mind are reaching for his brother half-way round the globe.

* * *

_Bucky makes friends and fights and gets captured by Hydra. Sometimes he wonders why he’s the only one that Hydra experimented on who survived. Weeks later, he discovers that having a Bonded who is already a supersoldier helps when you are given a diluted version._

* * *

Steve finally gets to the Front and discovers Bucky has been taken, and nothing is going to stop him from getting him back. Bond-luck apparently makes finding someone in a secret base merely improbable rather than impossible.

Together again, they and the Howlies run around Europe wreaking havoc on Hydra bases.

Then comes the train.

And Bucky falls.

And Bucky dies.

It’s odd. Normally, when a Bonded dies, their partner’s grief is an empty aching void, a part of them reaching out to someone who can no longer answer. But Steve’s grief is pain, searing loss and a burning desire for revenge.

It takes several weeks to get everything organised for the final assault on the Red Skull’s base, and Steve is there every step of the way, a frenetic energy forcing him into action.

Finally the day comes and he faces Schmidt, fights him, sees him lost to the power of the Tesseract.

Steve is in the plane, and knows that his only option is to crash it into the ocean. But that’s ok. The pain and anger is gone, replaced by a creeping freezing numbness. He sees the ocean rushing towards him and smiles; if there is an afterlife, Bucky will be waiting for him. He barely feels the freezing water as it soaks through his uniform.

* * *

_The Valkyrie crashes and, half a continent away, a cryo-chamber finishes bringing its contents to a stable temperature for the first time._

* * *

_Hydra had found Bucky when he fell from the train, and recognised him as both Captain America’s friend and Zola’s experiment. They rescued him and healed him, and began the first stages of turning him into a tool to be used._

_But they knew of Schmidt’s planned attack, and saw preparations for the Allies’ counter; the organisation’s direction would soon change, either for the better or the worse. This was not the time to dedicate resources to a new long-term project. So they stored it until more favourable conditions. They froze Bucky. (Bucky was lucky; he was the first to survive that experiment too.)_

_Over the years, they wake Bucky several times. First for conditioning, then for training, then for missions._

_They are surprised by how easily Bucky bends to their will, particularly in comparison to their records of his last stay. It is as though a part of his mind is still asleep. But maybe it is the effects of the cryo-chamber; after all, they thaw him, but he never seems to become warm. They call him the Winter Soldier._

* * *

In the ice, Steve dreams. He dreams of pain, faces, words, pain, horror, defeat, pain, guns, blood, pain, cold.

Then, Steve wakes.

**Author's Note:**

>  **BBB fill details**  
>  Title: Ice Bound  
> Collaborator: LBibliophile  
> Square Filled: Y1- image of Bucky and Steve post-Azzano  
> Ship: Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers (or Bucky/Steve if you choose)  
> Rating: T  
> Major Tags: Soulmates au, cryofreeze, implied passive suicide  
> Summary: Steve and Bucky are Bonded. From the day they first meet they are inseparable – best friends and brothers – hardly a day goes past without the other’s company. People say they are lucky, finding each other so young, so close, never having to search and wonder; they say that it is a sign of the strength of their bond. They will need that strength.  
> Word Count: 615


End file.
